Walking in the Big Bend National Park at Chihuahuan Desert, Texas, a park volunteer came across a fuzzy flower, which never turned out to be a species. “Woly Devil,”, as researchers have named it, is in the sunflower family and also represents a new genus.
This is the first time in about 50 years that a new plant genus has been described in a US National Park since the search for a gold bush of July (Dedekera urekensis) In 1976 in Death Valley National Park, According to a statement From California Academy of Sciences.
The new discovery suggests that the researcher Chihuahuan is far from all documents of the variety of desert plants, which covers some parts of Mexico and South -Western US
“While many people believe that plants and animals within the national parks of our country are probably so far documented, scientists still make surprising new discovery in these iconic protected scenarios,” Isaac Lichar MarksIn the California Academy of Sciences, a botanist and co-writer of research describing new species said in a statement.
Woolen devil search
In March 2024, the Park volunteer, Deb Manley shared pictures of flowers – which measured 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 cm) and were exiting the middle of the desert rocks – the inequality of the civil science forum, where an international community of botanists tried to identify the plant.
Manley and a team of botanists and biologists studied the characteristics of the flower and performed genetic analysis, comparing its DNA with species from Herberia at Sal Ross State University and California Academy of Sciences in Texas. He confirmed the plant as both a new species and a new genus, and recognized it as a member of the sunflower family, according to research, which was published in the journal on 18 February Phytoces,
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Researchers chose scientific name Ovikula BirdiataIn Latin, “Ovis” comes from “sheep” and respects the berne sheep of the desert (Ovis Canadesis Nelsoni),, A reputed and danger desert animal. The plant consists of white and woolen leaves, which contain small, curved, red and white flowers that meet the horns. The flowers were found near a part of the park called Devils Dane, which the team named the species as “Wulli Devil”.
Chihuahuan Desert is the largest and most biologically diverse warm desert in North America, and Big Bend National Park has a large amount of biodiversity. Many species found in the park have limited distribution, which are found only inside or outside the park.
So far, Wulli Devils is only present in a small area of the Big Bend National Park, and researchers feel that, depending on its limited range, the plant may be particularly sensitive to the pattern of the changing season.
This part of the Chihuahuan desert has recently suffered a severe drought situation, and the problem is expected to deteriorate due to climate change. This means that woolen devils can qualify as weak and face high danger of extinction.
“As a climate change, the desert pushes to warm and dry, the highly specific plants such as woolen devil face being extinct,” Lichar Markak said in the statement. “It is possible that we have documented a species that is already on its way.”
